Amazon will mentor desi startups

The US e-commerce giant plans to provide a range of services through its Launchpad programmeJohn Sarkar | TNN | December 06, 2016, 09:48 IST

Picture source: ThinkStockIn what could turn out to be a boon for Indian startups, the world’s largest online retailer Amazon is looking to mentorentrepreneurs, who want to fast-track their fledgling businesses.

The US e-commerce giant plans to provide a range of services — from providing marketing muscle and online visibility to branding and helping startups obtain licences to sell their products in international markets — through its Launchpad programme, which was introduced here on Monday. “We rolled out this programme in several markers including US, UK, Germany, Mexico and France in July last year,” said Jason Feldman, director global innovations at Amazon. “Globally, we have around 1,000 startups on our platform selling over 4,000 products. In India, around 25 startups are already selling 400 products through this programme.”

Amazon’s Launchpad is a marketplace within a marketplace. Innovative products by startups, which have enrolled for the programme, are showcased here for a monthly fee of Rs 5,000. Launchpad members will also have better visibility through widgets and in-house advertising. The product listings for these startups are also unique when compared to regular ones on Amazon.

For instance, Ice Orb, which is a floating Bluetooth speaker, has one of its founder’s picture in the product description section, along with a user-friendly custom narrative of the item by him. “We have a designated account manager, who is helping us with listing our products on Amazon’s other global sites,” said Pallavi Utagi, partner with Superbottoms, a startup that makes reusable cloth diapers. Utagi was earlier selling on Amazon.in but has now opted for Launchpad.

“Our listings are more content-rich now through larger videos, more space and text,” she said. “Through this programme, we want to tap markets such as Europe, where cloth diapers account for 30% of the total diaper market.”

Other than having richer content for listings, startups that have opted for the Launchpad program elsewhere have robust logistical support through Amazon’s hub, which is a network of vendors and service providers that Launchpad startups may reach out to for support in terms of funding and prototyping to manufacturing and sales.Although an Amazon spokesperson was not available to confirm whether Indian startups will have similar access to such a network, several entrepreneurs in the Launchpad program that TOI spoke to said their initial discussions with Amazon executives have revealed that such hand-holding, including access to fund houses may be in the pipeline.

Globally, Amazon Launchpad works with more than 100 venture capital funds, crowd-funding services and accelerators. In India, it has initially partnered with Startup India, Nasscom 10,000 Startups and Indian Angel Network, among others.